Sophie Ames Sells 23,025 Shares of D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: D-Wave Quantum VP Sophie Ames sold 23,025 shares at an average price of $18.98, worth about $437,000. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, and she still holds 596,803 shares.
• Stock and earnings backdrop: QBTS jumped sharply, trading up 33.5% to $25.77 amid heavy volume. The company recently beat EPS expectations with a loss of $0.05 per share, though revenue came in below estimates and remains under pressure year over year.
• Sentiment catalysts: Investor enthusiasm has been boosted by D-Wave’s $100 million CHIPS Act funding letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce and broader reports of possible government support for quantum firms. Analysts remain mostly bullish, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a $34.67 price target.

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report) VP Sophie Ames sold 23,025 shares of D-Wave Quantum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.98, for a total value of $437,014.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 596,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,327,320.94. This trade represents a 3.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

D-Wave Quantum Stock Up 33.5%

NYSE:QBTS traded up $6.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $25.77. The company had a trading volume of 116,133,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,302,361. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.81 and a beta of 1.95. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $18.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.24. D-Wave Quantum Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.75 and a 12-month high of $46.75. The company has a current ratio of 21.41, a quick ratio of 21.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.03. D-Wave Quantum had a negative net margin of 2,957.23% and a negative return on equity of 44.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 80.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that D-Wave Quantum Inc. will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on QBTS. Wall Street Zen cut shares of D-Wave Quantum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of D-Wave Quantum from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.67.

Institutional Trading of D-Wave Quantum

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QBTS. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,135 shares of the company's stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 59.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 162,088 shares of the company's stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 60,668 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 201.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 200,765 shares of the company's stock worth $1,526,000 after buying an additional 134,066 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 93.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 108,572 shares of the company's stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 52,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of D-Wave Quantum by 125.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 43,786 shares of the company's stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 24,382 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.47% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting D-Wave Quantum

Here are the key news stories impacting D-Wave Quantum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: D-Wave signed a Letter of Intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $100 million in proposed CHIPS and Science Act funding, which could help accelerate U.S. quantum-computing development and support D-Wave’s scaling efforts. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Washington is preparing a broader $2 billion quantum funding package for nine quantum companies lifted sentiment across the entire group, including QBTS, as investors bet on government-backed demand and industry validation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several market reports noted that quantum stocks were breaking out after news of possible government stakes, with D-Wave among the biggest gainers as traders rotated into the theme. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy options activity in QBTS call contracts suggests traders are positioning for more upside, reinforcing the bullish move. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader tech stocks were also firmer during the session, which may have added some tailwind to QBTS but was not the main driver. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors should note that D-Wave still has weak profitability and depends heavily on future commercialization; recent coverage highlighted strong revenue growth, but also ongoing losses and execution risk. Article Title

D-Wave Quantum Company Profile

D-Wave Quantum Inc NYSE: QBTS develops and provides quantum computing systems, software and services focused on quantum annealing technology. Headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, D-Wave designs specialized processors that leverage quantum mechanics to solve complex optimization and sampling problems. Since its founding in 1999 by physicists including Geordie Rose, the company has pursued the development of commercially viable quantum hardware and accompanying software tools.

The company's product portfolio centers on its quantum annealers, which are complemented by hybrid solvers that integrate classical and quantum computing resources.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.